Kicillof sees ‘many optimistic signals’

Economy Minister Axel Kicillof said he sees “many optimistic signals for the second trimestre and even next year” for an ending to economic recession.

According to the Kirchnerite official, “many elements” signal economic recovery, including price deceleration and income increases due to wage negotiations and the federal government’s welfare benefits.

In an interview with Página 12, Kicillof admitted the impact in real economy of January’s abrupt devaluation –which he described as a ‘destabilizing attempts’-, he pointed out that “all catastrophic forecasts that said a bomb was going to explote in March were overcome”.

Kicillof said that now, that the monetary and exchange market are stable, with decelerating prices, “we start to see the impact of a increase in real incomes, as a result of wage negotiations”.

The Minister also referred to the Paris Club agreement to reestructure Argentina’s debt, which he describid as a “long process” with an “extremely positive” outcome.

“That agreement means Argentina is ready to renegotiate without the supervision of any international organisation,” Kicillof said in a clear reference to the International Monetary Fund. “The last time Argentina renegotiated debt, for instance with the IMF,” he said, “[the negotiators] came back with a 13 per cent cut in civil servant’s wages and retirements”.

The official also stressed the importance of the conditions the government set to its Paris Club creditors. “If we had gone with the IMF, we would have returned with certain conditions,” Kicillof said. “Increasing social transfers, giving children vaccines and the old more retirement funds are clearly not among them”.